Oakland Cemetery
Founded in 1850 as Atlanta Cemetery on six acres southeast of the young city, Oakland grew to 48 acres and now holds an estimated 70,000 burials beneath its oaks and magnolias. During the Civil War, Atlanta served as a major medical and transport hub, and nearly 6,900 Confederate soldiers were interred here — about 3,000 of them unidentified — alongside a handful of Union dead, the whole field anchored by a 65-foot granite obelisk. Visitors on still days have long claimed to hear a phantom bugle and a voice calling the roll, with faint replies of "heah" and "present" drifting up from the graves. Others describe men in Confederate uniform wandering the grounds, mistaken for reenactors until the cemetery office confirms none are on site. The legend endures as one of Atlanta's most repeated ghost stories — the war, it is said, still rages quietly among the unnamed.
📍 248 Oakland Avenue SE, Atlanta, GA · Get directions